1985 Dave Moulton / Campagnolo Cobalto
58 cm. owned by Russell Rollins who wrote the following.

It seemed a small moment in life. One of those passing coincidental events that would come and go then cataloged in the back of the mind. In the beginning I failed to see how much it would mean to me over the next few days.

He built a bicycle in 1985, I bought it in 1993. “He” was Dave Moulton. It’s important for me to tell you that I am not a “cyclist”, nor am I an athlete, nor am I a sportsman - I am not competitive. If there is a stereotype of the kind of person who would own a bike like this, I am the opposite.

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It was during the mid-1970’s that I bought a bike from Beach Bike in Galveston. I paid something around $200 for it, which was half my monthly income. The bike was a Motobecane Grand Record. The frame was black with red graphics and gold pin striping. I was drawn to the bike because of the lugs. The lugs were the pieces of metal that joined the tubes of the frame together. Normally, these are round or flat edged and provide strength while holding the tubes in alignment. The Motobecane was different – the lugs were sculpted. Carved scrolls of hand cut steel forming intricate lace at the ends of the tubes. It was art and the artist highlighted the shapes with gold pinstripes. I held on to that modest bike until 1993 when it was stolen from my garage.

   

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It broke my heart to have lost that unique piece of craftsmanship. I immediately began searching for a replacement. The new hi-tech models of the early 90’s were impressive. New materials and components were light-years ahead of my old bike. But there was something missing, something that couldn’t be found in mass produced frames and over the counter components. Campagnolo was nowhere to be found, replaced by Japanese manufacturers. These were just clones to me. They all looked alike, at least they did in my mind.

 

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One day I was strolling through Daniel Boone Cycles talking to Joy Boone about my old bike and how much I loved its “art” over its technical appeal. Hanging on the wall at the back of the shop I saw the “lugs”. Chrome, sculpted, brilliant, the light was startling. It appeared to bend and intensify as it reflected. The entire bike stood apart as a Lamborghini would in a showroom of Fords.

Moving closer toward the bike the white pearl paint sent out laser beams of color so subtle it was more of an experience than a physical presence. The cobalt blue “dave moulton” lettering was understated and elegant.

 

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And the chrome… it was a flawless mirror finish that reflected and refracted light and image from every angle.

The components were not simply parts bolted to the frame, they were born to the frame. On the brakes were small jewels, blue round semiprecious stones that captured light and threw it back in lightning bolts. The frame reached out and held them, a mother and her children. Each piece carefully matched for form and function… and of course beauty.  It was timeless.

This bike was not built, it was created. As God creates men, men imitate God by creating machines. The soul of a man’s creation begins in his heart and passes through his hands.

 

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If he is right, if he is passionate, the creation will bear his soul. If you don’t believe me it is only because you haven’t touched this creation.

I spent the next few years riding the bike and absorbing its charisma and personality. I didn’t ride for competition, I didn’t ride in “packs”. The experience for me was more ethereal. I wanted to be alone, I wanted to be hypnotized by the cadence and constant rhythm. It didn’t matter if it was in the city or in the countryside, the release was the same. There is a harmonic balance to the ride. The gyroscopic motion of the wheels and the sonic music of the spokes singing in the wind travels from wheels to frame. The steel frame of the Dave Moulton has its own musical note, a tuning not found in other types of material. Composites and aluminum do not harmonize. It is the blended steel frame that has a musical note, each bike having a unique sound depending on the size and metal. You won’t “hear” it on other bikes, only those that are perfectly tuned like a musical instrument. The “note” enters the body of the rider and soothes the soul with music. It is an addiction.

As I rode I would think about the bike and its creator. I knew little about him. He was a man I knew had sat across the table from champions. His bikes were bred as magnificently as a horse in the Kentucky Derby – and I’m riding one!

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Over the years I began searching the internet for anything I could discover about Dave Moulton. At one point I found a website for Dave’s shop in California. At Last! But the phone number was disconnected. Another dead end.

Then about a year ago I was able to gather some information from the Classic Rendezvous website. They had a short bio on Dave and some grainy photos of a figure hulking over a frame with a welding torch. It said something about his music career, but gave no contacts or forwarding information. It added to his mystique and elusiveness. I had more questions than answers.

Two weeks ago I came across Russ Denny’s site and his mentorship with Dave. Russ and I emailed a few times and he posted the pictures of my bike on his site.

   

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The following Monday morning my jaw dropped to my knees when I saw an email in my inbox - “From: Dave Moulton”. It was an extra-terrestrial contact. He existed and he was alive and he was here... in my Inbox.

The following emails were short. He shared with me small details of his life past. I learned from his website that he quit frame building the year I bought the bike. Since then he pursued his creative energy through music and writing.

Today I am looking at the bike with the same wonderment I had that day in Boone Cycles.

 
 

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Before this chance encounter with Dave I was ready to let the bike go to someone else to be appreciated all over again. I wanted someone else to take up the search. Now I am certain it will stay with me forever.

The colors still dance in the light. It is still a chameleon that changes with the light and mood. It is a time machine, a timeless machine. Like art, time only enhances its beauty. Of all its qualities that I admire, it is its ability to create dreams that is most remarkable. After all, it’s only a bike, a mere child’s toy.
 
Russell Rollins. May 13, 2004
   
 

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  A Footnote by Dave Moulton.
 
 

I first saw these pictures on Russ Denny’s Website and thought they would make a nice addition to this site. This is how I came to contact Russell Rollins to ask his permission to use the photos. This lead to his writing the piece you have just read. I considered it to be extremely well written and felt it would go well with the pictures.

  
 

Russell mentioned my elusiveness. Frame building is a very labor intensified and it is difficult to work with a constant stream of people coming through your door, taking up your time, asking questions. Even though many were potential customers with good intentions, at times it became impossible to work. After some bad experiences at Paris Sport in New Jersey and at the Masi shop in California when I opened my own shop in 1983 I decided to operate a strict no visitor policy. (More about this on the Journal Page. 5/14/04.)

  
 

Anyone looking for a bike like the one described here by Russell Rollins would do well to contact Russ Denny. Russ apprenticed with me for eight years, starting when he was eighteen. He took over my business when I left in 1993 and by that time could do any thing I could do. In fact in some aspects, for example, fillet brazing he was better than me. Since then he has added another eleven years to his experience. This in my opinion would place Russ Denny as one of the best frame builders to be found anywhere. Certainly few have this much skill and experience.

  
   

  Read about the frame numbers on the custom frames next.

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      Frame Numbers on Custom Frames. (Custom only, not Fuso.)

  

      These were linked to the date the frame was made which was an idea I borrowed from Masi. I’m glad I did this because I can now say exactly when a custom frame was built. For example the number 7843. The first digit is the month; in this case July. The first digit was 1 through 9 for January to September, then O for October, N for November, and D for December. The next two digits is the year; in this example 1984.

      The forth and last digit is the number frame built that month. I built on average eight frames a month, so this number tells me the frame was built the second week of July 1984. The number was always a four digit number with two exceptions. One month in 1983 I built eleven frames, so there are two frames out there with a five digit number ending in 10 and 11. Incidentally that month was early in 1983 about the time I moved into my own shop in San Marcos, CA. All I did was work and sleep back then; trying to get ahead.
      Also stamped on the underside of the bottom bracket shell was the frame size. Usually this was in centimeters (Measured center to top.) but occasionally I would be asked to build a frame measured in inches. In this case the frame size would be marked for example (21in.) Some early custom frames were also stamped with the initials "DB" followed by the frame size. The DB was for Dave and Brenda. (My ex-wife.) This was just an identification mark that was later discontinued.

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       I recently found my original frame number record book. It lists all numbers of custom frames built from January 1982 until July of 1986. There were a few custom frames built after that date but they are not recorded in this book. The numbers of these frames would follow the same format described above. The book unfortunately does not have full frame specs listed. It just lists the frame number, the size of frame, the original customer and bike dealer it was sold through.

      There were only 216 custom ‘dave moulton’ frames built in The United States. This surprised me; I thought the number was higher. In 1982 while still working in the Masi shop I built 69 frames. In 1983 after moving into my own facility I built 96 custom frames. I addition to this I built around 200 John Howard frames. (I don’t have exact numbers.)

      In 1984 I built 39custom frames. As production of the Fuso started the numbers of the custom frames built dropped dramatically. In 1985 only 9 were built and in 1986 the number of custom frames was 3. After that I built so few I didn’t even record the numbers. Again a total of 216.

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Of the 216 custom ‘dave moulton’ frames built there were different models:
special PROFESSIONAL ROAD

The most popular frame. Columbus SL or SLX; 73 degree head angle; 1 3/8 inch fork rake. 154 built.
special PRO CRITERIUM

Built in Columbus PS (Pista Sprint)  Track fork crown with special round/oval/round fork blades; 74 degree head angle; 1 1/8 inch fork rake. 36 built

special PROFESSIONAL TRACK Only 3 built

special GRAND TOURING Braze on rack and fender eyelets. Only 20 built

special LADY GRAND TOURING Ladies model with a dropped top tube. Only 3 built.

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      Building custom frames like this; one at a time, each one different and finishing one frame completely before moving to the next is not an efficient way to build bicycle frames. I did all the work myself, and in the early years worked 18 hour days. As time went on and the numbers of Fuso frames increased I was no longer prepared to work these extremely long hours. (I was still doing all the main brazing on the Fuso.) So the price of the custom ‘dave moulton’ went up and eventually priced itself out of the market.

      You always know a genuine ‘dave moulton’ frame even if it has been repainted; it has the name engraved in the bottom bracket. Also the frame number has to exist and match the frame size in my record book, and if you contact me I can authenticate your frame. For example the frame number 7843 I gave at the beginning does not exist; there is no frame with that number.
Update 1/3/06
What are the chances of finding a custom frame in your size? The table below shows how many of the various sizes of custom 'dave moulton' frames were built in California between 1982 and 1986.

(The total below is 202. There were 14 more frames built were I failed to record the frame size.)

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SIZE ROAD CRITERIUM TOURING SIZE ROAD CRITERIUM TOURING
46 1     57 15 6 3
50   1   57.5 2 1  
20in.   1   58 15 5 3
51 2     59 18   1
52 3 3 1 60 15 3 1
52.5 1     60.5 2    
53 7   3 61 7 1 1
54 6 1 1 62 3   1
54.5 1     24.5in. 1    
21.5in. 1     63 1 2  
55 17 3 1   25in. 1    
55.5 1 2 1 64 1    
56 14 6 1 66 2   2
56.5 2 1   67 1    
 

There were 3 Lady GRAND TOURING frames built. 1 size 47cm. 2 size 19in. There were 3 Track frames built. Sizes 49cm. 57cm. and 61cm.

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  Update 6/16/05  Fuso Frame Numbers.  
  The numbering system used for the custom frames was not practical for the production frames like the Fuso. These were numbered in sequence starting at number 1. There were slightly less than 3,000 Fuso frames built from 1984 to 1993.  
   The chart below is an estimation of a Fuso frame number and the approximate date it was built. I do not have exact records. All frames built in 1987 had a special anniversary decal on the left chainstay so if anyone owns one of these and the number falls outside the range given here, please let me know.  
  Update 10/31/05 *1987 frames had a 30th anniversary decal on the chainstay so these frames can be dated to that year. I have heard from owners of these anniversary frames with numbers within the range shown here, so the numbers for the following years have been adjusted accordingly. Again this is a rough guide and I will update this section if and when I get information from Fuso owners.  
Frame # Year   Frame # Year   Frame # Year

001 - 300

1984

   1401 - 1690 1988   2401 - 2640 1992
301 - 650 1985   1691 - 1930 1989    2641 - 2840? 1993
651 - 1050 1986   1931 - 2170 1990      
1051 - 1400  1987*   2171 - 2410 1991      
   
 

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All frames built in my shop

(Custom 'dave moulton,' John Howard, Fuso, and Recherche) were all measured from the center of the bottom bracket to an imaginary line just above the actual top of the seat lug as shown here. If a seat lug had an extra long point the measurement would still be to the same place. The size was stamped under the bottom bracket shell opposite the serial number.

Center to center measurement would be approximately 2cm. less than the size stamped under the bottom bracket.

  
     
     

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